CHAPTER 8: CORRINE’s MOVE

POV: Imani

The war room had a large, worn map table at the center. Its surface was scarred, with patches of exposed wood where the borders had been changed so often that the old lines had begun to bleed into the new ones. Someone had also scratched out parts of the eastern map and replaced them with hand drawn details of settlements that had sprung up since our last update. It was another reminder of how much the world outside kept changing, even when we were too occupied to keep up with it.

I found myself standing just inside the door, uncertain whether I was supposed to take a seat or not. Zane was already at the head of the table, flattening a courier’s letter with one of his hands as though he could force it to stay still. He hadn’t slept, and that much was clear, but unlike him, I looked like a complete mess. The sleepless nights had left their mark visible on my face, and I could feel the strain around my eyes whenever I blinked.

“Sit,” he ordered without looking up.

I obeyed and took a seat.

Beckett was leaning against the wall, his arms were crossed across his body, while two older men I didn’t recognize took their places across the table. Their faces carried the kind of experience that came from spending years in this room, making difficult decisions long before I had ever even arrived. No one introduced them, and I noted that too. Apparently, it seemed like nobody thought I needed to know who was who.

“Corinne’s been in touch with the northern faction,” Zane finally said, sliding the letter towards the center of the table, though nobody bothered to reach for it. “She’s been talking to Selene Marchetti’s people. Not through me and not through Naomi either. She sent a courier herself, two days before Imani even arrived here.”

“Two days before…” I said, the words echoing in the room, as I tried to take that in.

“She knew the arrangement was finalizing,” Zane continued. “She started forming her response before you even stepped through the gates.” His jaw tightened, and his hand resting beside the letter curled slightly. “What happened last night gave her something to use against us.”

“What exactly is she claiming?” I asked, keeping my voice steady even though it felt like every part of my insides were exploding.

“That the attack proves we made a mistake with the binding.” Beckett’s tone was flat, almost as though he resented having to say it aloud. “She’s framing it as though we’ve got a liability now. Something followed you through a wall that had been impenetrable for eight years. She’s made it clear that you’re the weak link.”

A chill settled in my stomach. It was the same feeling I’d had three weeks ago when everyone had been making decisions about me without bothering to ask what it was I actually wanted.

“I mean, she’s not entirely wrong that something followed me,” I said slowly. “But she’s misinterpreting what that means.”

“Nobody here believes you did anything,” Zane reassured me.

“That isn’t what matters, though,” I said. “What really counts is what the rest of the alliance thinks. She had a two day head start to shape their opinions, and I doubt she’s spent that time telling them to give me the benefit of the doubt.”

Before anyone could respond, the door swung open. Corinne walked in confidently, as though she really did belong here. And judging by the expressions on everyone’s faces, she probably did. She was dressed far more sharply than she had been the night before, every detail on her clothes carefully put together, but she didn’t look at me first. Her gaze went straight to Zane.

“I heard you were discussing about me,” she said coolly. “Thought I’d come in and save you the trouble of guessing what I said.”

“Corinne.” Zane’s voice was tight now, the restraint in it wearing thin. “You went behind my back. You went around, Naomi. And you contacted Selene’s people on your own without discussing it with anyone here first.”

“And that’s because I knew exactly how this was going to go.” She pulled out a chair and sat herself down casually, as though she had just as much authority as the man in charge. “You’d insist I was overreacting. Naomi would tell me to trust the process. Meanwhile, something walked right through our defences the same night we bound ourselves to a stranger nobody adequately vetted.” She rolled her eyes.

“She wasn’t just a stranger,” Zane interjected. “She’s a debt our family has owed for years.”

“A debt we’ve ignored for years while ignoring the fine print,” Corinne replied, finally turning her attention towards me. The look in her eyes was cool and analytical, but there was no real warmth or animosity in them. Just an unsettling calm, making the hairs on my body stand. “I’m not blaming anyone for anything. I want to make that clear. I’m just asking a simple question,” She took a brief pause, dusting out the imaginary dust on the cloth. “Why did something follow her through our wall the night she arrived? That’s it. Nobody has answered that yet, and with the look of it, it seems as though no one is willing to.”

The silence that followed was almost suffocating. I could feel the two older council members watching me from the head down to my toes, their attention shifting as they reconsidered whatever conclusions they’d already reached. It finally struck me just how much Corinne had accomplished in two days. She hadn’t needed to invent anything. She’d simply taken what happened and presented it in a way that made everyone question what my place here was. And that is very troubling, because growing up I was taught that, it was much harder to argue against something that was true, even when the conclusions drawn from it were wrong.

Zane opened his mouth to speak, fury and a loom of protectiveness tightening his expression, but I knew that if he answered for me now, it would only make things worse. Corinne would get exactly what she wanted. A king defending his weakness instead of a territory that was meant to protect its people.

“I’ll answer that,” I said, my voice sounding steady.

All heads turned to face me. I looked at Zane, and saw how his jaw clenched, but he chose to not interrupt me, giving me a small shake of his head.

“Yes,” I said, meeting Corinne’s gaze directly. “It did follow me. I don’t know why, and neither does Dr. Kovac or even Naomi, though she has information she isn’t sharing. I’m not going to sit here and pretend I have a neat answer because I don’t.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring,” one of the older council members commented.

“I’m not trying to give you false comfort. I’m here to share the truth, especially since I can’t say the same about what Selene’s people have been hearing over the last couple of days.”

My attention remained on Corinne as I continued to speak. “You say you’re not pointing fingers at me, but you took something that scared everyone here, something none of us fully understand yet, and instead of trying to find out why it happened, you turned it into a weapon and used it the moment you had the chance to,” I paused, slightly bending my head to the side, my gaze growing intense on her. “That doesn’t exactly show caution. It shows strategy. And honestly, it says a lot more about your fears than it does about who I am as a person.”

Corinne’s expression barely changed, but I caught the slight shift in her eyes. She hadn’t expected me to challenge her, at least not in front of everyone.

“And what exactly do you think I am afraid of?” she asked; her voice was quieter now, and stripped of the earlier theatrics.

“That the longer I’m of use here, the less important you’ll be.” I let my words settle before continuing. “Look, I’m not your enemy, Corinne. But you need to be aware that I won’t just stand here and let you paint me as one because it’s easier than dealing with the real issues on hand.”

We sat in silence for a while after that, the quietness doing nothing to calm the tension growing.

“The eastern packs have been noticing some strange things as well, over the last month. It isn’t as intense as last night, but still strange.” One of the council members spoke, almost hesitantly

For the first time since I arrived, the attention shifted away from me. My shoulders loosened slightly, and I drew in a deep quiet breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. It wasn’t relief exactly, but at least I wasn’t the only thing anyone wanted to discuss and focus on anymore.

Corinne didn’t say anything else. She simply stood and walked out. Zane watched her leave, his expression changing slightly, but I didn’t have the energy to figure out what would be going through his mind.

After that, the council began to disperse. As the conversations gradually faded and people filed through the door, I slipped past Zane, craving some form of fresh air that didn’t feel so tangled up with his attention.

By the time I walked over to the corridor, Naomi was standing there, probably waiting for me.

This time, she didn’t seem hostile. That was the first thing I noticed. The cold judgment she’d given me before was gone, and had gotten replaced by something closer to genuine curiosity. Her eyes lingered on me for a moment, as though she was reconsidering something she’d already decided.

“You handled that better than I thought you would,” she commented.

“I had no idea I was being tested,” I replied.

“Everything in this territory feels like a test, Ms. Ellis. You’ll figure that out quickly, or you won’t last long enough to matter.” She said, falling into step beside me at a leisurely pace, as though we had all the time in the world. “Let’s take a walk together. There are things you should know before Corinne decides to tell you her own version of the story first.”